Full Moon wo Sagashite > Episode 01

• Episode Title - But I Want To Sing
• Episode # - [Episode 01]
• Season - 1
• Original Airing Date - April 6, 2002
• Written by - xiwang

SUMMARY

Full Moon wo Sagashite starts with a dream that twelve-year-old Kouyama Mitsuki is having. Her wish to become a real singer has come true, and the boy that she loves, Eichi-kun, has come to watch and declares his love for her. Poor Mitsuki is disappointed when she wakes up to find her alarm clock ringing and realizes it was all just a dream. As she fixes her hair in her room, Mitsuki begins to sing (quite prettily, I might add), but suddenly falls to her knees, clutching her throat. Her disapproving grandmother comes in, and scolds Mitsuki, telling her that "music is a disgusting subject" and makes a passing reference to Mitsuki's father.

Wakaouji-sensei, Mitsuki's doctor, arrives to check up on his delighted patient. After he finishes his examination, Mitsuki asks him if she could have "an excuse to be at your hospital today." He smiles, guessing that she wants an alibi to go somewhere, and Mitsuki proudly presents her callback for Seed Record's new artist audition. Wakaouji regretfully tells her no, however, and that because of her throat tumor, he cannot approve as her doctor. He points out that there's no way she can sing for the audition until her throat is fully recovered. Seeing her sadness, Wakaouji suggests Mitsuki have an operation done while her tumor is still small, but Mitsuki replies that she doesn't want one because there's a possibility she might lose her voice and that she's more afraid of being unable to sing than dying.

Later as he prepares to leave, Wakaouji pleads with Mitsuki's grandmother to make her reconsider having the operation. Grandmother angrily tells him that she's tried but Mitsuki won't listen and that she's just like her former daughter. Mitsuki, who was watching, closes her door and sadly places her callback into her desk. She pulls a book from the shelf titled "Space" and flips through the pages until she finds a photo tucked inside of her and Eichi-kun. Mitsuki remembers a promise she made to him; Eichi-kun told her that the next time they met, he wanted them both to be closer to their dreams; his to be an astronomer and her to be a singer. As she contemplates this, a hand suddenly shoots out of the poster above her desk, causing a startled Mitsuki to scramble to the back of her room. An oddly dressed young man and woman emerge from a portal in the poster and they are shocked when they realize Mitsuki can see them. They panic but then introduce themselves as Takuto and Meroko and inadvertently reveal they are Shinigami (gods of death) who have come to take her away. Mitsuki bows her head in quiet acceptance of the fact that she will die a year from now. Takuto awkwardly tries to comfort Mitsuki by telling her that even now there are people trying to stop her death but admits that her fate cannot be changed.

Mitsuki's resolve to go to the Seed Record audition is strengthened by the knowledge that she can't put off her dream any longer and she slips out of her house unnoticed. She makes her way to the recording studio, happy that she'll finally be able to fulfill her promise to Eichi-kun. Takuto and Meroko catch up to her but are bewildered when they see her trying to force her way inside. Meroko points out that Mitsuki will only run away again if they appear as they are now, so they both transform into cute little stuffed animals. As soon as Mitsuki approaches them, they transform back and latch onto her, dragging her away from the building. She reluctantly admits to them that she couldn't go in through the front because she doesn't look sixteen. She escapes their grip and runs back, desperate to get into the studio. She pleads with them to at least allow her to audition and taking pity on her, Takuto performs a spell that turns Mitsuki into a healthy sixteen year old. A jealous Meroko admonishes Takuto for ignoring their orders but he points out that if they don't let her do this now, she may cause more trouble when she has to die.

"If she regrets here, then when she dies, she may not agree to come to the spiritual world. That'll bother us more." - Takuto

"That's right but -- what if she passes? That'll be more regret." - Meroko

"That's all right. She won't pass easily. To be 16 and audition...To know the reality of life and then have failed, she won't even have a piece of regret afterwards." - Takuto

Inside the studio, Mitsuki feels intimidated by all the beautiful girls that surround her, unaware of the attention she herself attracts. She is stunned when another girl tells her there's a story going around that a successful member has already been chosen but after thinking of all the people who told her she would never make it, Mitsuki decides to go through with the audition anyway. She goes through a brief interview and quietly begins to sing her song. The panel of interviewers stop the music, asking if something is wrong with her throat because she isn't singing loudly enough. Mitsuki feels her resolve slip and is about to run out of the room when she is stopped by Takuto, who advises her not to give up so easily. An encouraged Mitsuki apologizes to the panel and asks for another chance. This time, she belts out her song beautifully and the strongly impressed interviewers immediately declare that it's been decided down to her, leaving Mitsuki thrilled!

:: Quotables ::

"I'm more afraid to be unable to sing than to die." - Mitsuki Kouyama

"If I only have a year left, I can't be slowed down anymore." - Mitsuki